Upon hearing that Guo Jingbo hadn’t brought her treasures, Bai Li shot him a dissatisfied glare and still held out her chubby little hand in front of him. “Hmph! Your parents’ apology gift is from them. What about your own apology gift?”
“Wah!” Guo Jingbo cried even harder at Bai Li’s words. “All my magical power has been sealed, and I can’t open my Companion Space. I can’t take anything out right now!”
Hearing this, Bai Li was even more exasperated. “So useless. You have nothing at all—are you planning to freeload off me?”
“Your parents must have gotten tired of how much you eat and dumped you in this world. Otherwise, why are you the only one here? Why didn’t Qiongqi have to come?”
Guo Jingbo stopped sniffling, clenched his fists, and said angrily, “That’s because the Qiongqi Clan is too cunning!”
“As soon as your clan leader arrived at the Qiongqi Clan’s territory, their clan leader came out to greet him, apologizing and making amends. They even said they knew Qiongqi had done wrong and had already punished him by sending him to the Devil’s Forest for three years of training!”
“Tell me, why didn’t my parents have the foresight to send me to the Devil’s Forest too?”
Bai Li glared and punched Guo Jingbo in the right cheek. “How dare you say my clan leader Grandpa is scarier than the Devil’s Forest?”
Guo Jingbo covered his right cheek, shaking his head vigorously, his survival instincts kicking in. “No, no! I meant the Qiongqi Clan is cunning and deliberately avoided your clan leader Grandpa!”
Looking at the foolish Taotie before her, Bai Li felt nothing but disdain. Suddenly, she remembered Taotie’s appetite and asked Guo Jingbo, “Taotie, how much money and ration coupons did your parents here give you?”
Guo Jingbo poked his fingers together. “Li Li, I don’t know how much money my parents gave Grandpa Yu. All I have on me is ten yuan and two jin of ration coupons.”
“Ten yuan?” Bai Li’s delicate little face instantly puffed up with anger. “Taotie, haven’t your parents ever eaten with you? Don’t they know how much you eat?”
Guo Jingbo sat under the tree, hugging his knees helplessly. “Li Li, they’re both very busy and hardly ever come home. Only Grandma was here with the original body.”
“Yesterday, Grandma wasn’t feeling well, and the original body wanted to go to the clinic to find a doctor. That’s when he got kidnapped by traffickers.”
“The original body’s grandmother felt guilty and, considering her own poor health, couldn’t take care of me. I don’t know how they managed it, but in the end, they brought me to Grandpa Yu’s house.”
“It just so happens that I can keep you company, so they didn’t have to go looking for you specifically.”
After hearing Guo Jingbo’s explanation, Bai Li rolled her eyes at him. “With only ten yuan, how are you here to keep me company? You’re clearly here to freeload…”
“Gurgle!” Before Bai Li could finish, a loud gurgling sound came from Guo Jingbo’s stomach.
“Um…” Guo Jingbo looked at Bai Li awkwardly, his voice as pitiful as could be. “Li Li, I’m so hungry.”
“Ever since I came to this world, I’ve never been full!”
Bai Li stared at Guo Jingbo in surprise. “Didn’t your parents give you food?”
“They did, but I wasn’t full.” Guo Jingbo replied.
“How much did you eat?” Bai Li pressed. His parents were important researchers, and he was their only son. There was no way they would mistreat him.
“I ate ten meat buns, three bowls of rice, and a dish of stir-fried minced meat with cucumber, but none of them filled me up. It’s like I ate nothing at all.” Guo Jingbo twisted his fingers together, his voice weak.
“What else do you want to eat? Have you forgotten what time it is? The food you just ate is considered a rare treat that ordinary people can hardly afford in a whole year. You consumed enough for an entire family in one meal, and you’re still not satisfied?”
Bai Li rolled her eyes at Taotie again.
“But I’m hungry!” Guo Jingbo stared pitifully at Bai Li.
Bai Li pursed her lips and pointed at herself. “Don’t look at me. Do I look like someone who can feed you to your heart’s content?”
…
Guo Jingbo looked at Bai Li, who was almost the same height whether standing or sitting, and fell silent.
“Let’s go, time to head back for dinner.” Bai Li sighed softly, having failed to extract any more information from Guo Jingbo, and turned to walk back to the Yu family.
Guo Jingbo immediately stood up and followed closely behind Bai Li.
…
In the Beast Realm, the Beast God waved his left hand, withdrawing the water mirror.
“Alright, Taotie has found Little Pi Xiu, and Little Pi Xiu is doing well. Are you satisfied now, Pixiu Clan Leader?”
The water mirror gradually turned transparent, but the Pixiu Clan Leader’s gaze remained fixed on it until it completely vanished into the air.
Immediately after, the Pixiu Clan Leader turned and glared at Little Taotie’s parents. He rushed up to them, raised his fist, ready to start a fight.
The Taotie couple quickly dodged in opposite directions. Taotie’s father shouted, “Pixiu Clan Leader, Little Taotie has already gone to accompany Little Pi Xiu. Why are you still picking a fight?”
The Pixiu Clan Leader roared angrily, “Why wouldn’t I fight you? You sealed Little Taotie’s magical power, making him weaker than a feeble chicken—a complete burden. Are you trying to exhaust our Little Pi Xiu to death?”
“I knew there was a reason you were so eager to send Little Taotie to the small world. It turns out you couldn’t stand how much he eats and wanted our Little Pi Xiu to babysit for you. I’ll beat you to death!”
The Pixiu Clan Leader swung his fist, about to strike Taotie’s parents, but suddenly found that his fist couldn’t move forward even a millimeter.
The Pixiu Clan Leader turned his head and glared at the Beast God. “Beast God, what is the meaning of this?”
The Beast God waved his hand, and the Pixiu Clan Leader felt a gentle force slowly pushing him back, creating distance between him and Taotie’s parents.
“Pixiu Clan Leader, if Little Taotie’s magical power weren’t sealed, he would eat even more. Even if he devoured everything in that world, it still wouldn’t be enough.”
“However, in that world, it won’t do for Little Taotie to have no magical power at all. He would become a burden to Little Pi Xiu.”
“Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll lift part of the restriction and let the two children discover it gradually.”
After saying this, the Beast God pointed a finger, and several specks of starlight vanished into the air.
The Pixiu Clan Leader was still dissatisfied and muttered, “That Taotie is 500 years older than Little Pi Xiu. How can he have the nerve to be called a child alongside Little Pi Xiu?”
Taotie’s parents were displeased. “Pixiu Clan Leader, in the Taotie clan, Little Taotie is still a child. Why shouldn’t he be called one?”
Just as the Pixiu Clan Leader and Taotie’s parents were about to start arguing again, the Beast God waved his hand and tossed all three beasts out.
Out of sight, out of mind.
…
Back at the Yu household, Yu Jianguo saw Guo Jingbo’s symmetrically swollen face and glanced at Bai Li, wanting to say something. But noticing how closely Guo Jingbo was sticking to Bai Li, maintaining a distance of no more than half a meter, he swallowed his words in the end.
Children’s matters should be left for the children to resolve themselves; adults shouldn’t interfere.
Seeing that Guo Jingbo’s right cheek was swollen again, Yu Qingqiu initially intended to say something to Bai Li. However, noticing Yu Jianguo’s silence, she rolled her eyes thoughtfully, then smiled warmly at Guo Jingbo. “Comrade Guo, your face is swollen. Should Auntie Yu fetch some ointment for you to apply?”